Display device



Dec. 21, 1937. A J. A. KERN 2,102,596

v DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Sept. 15, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. I BY j fld M ATTORNEYS J. A. KERN DISPLAY DEVICE Dec. 21, 1937.

Filed Sept. 15, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. (10/212 A. Ker/v Patented Dec. 21, 1937 DISPLAY DEVICE John A. Kern, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The W. J. McCahan Sugar Refining & Molasses 00., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application September 13, 1937, Serial No. 163,623

6 Claims;

This invention relates in general to display devices, and more particularly to a device for providing a continuous stream of a granular substance for advertising display purposes. 7

.A principal object of the invention is the pros vision of an advertising displaydevice which functions to provide a. continuous stream of granular material flowing from a-delivery unit to a receiving unit, which is adapted. to attract attention by appearing to constitute a delivery unit of limited capacity which delivers a steady and apparently inexhaustible flow of the granular material.

Another important object of the invention is the provision in such a device of a delivery unit which has the outward appearance of a standard package or carton normally used for marketing the particular granular material.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a receiving unit in such a device which visibly retains a predetermined quantity of the granular material delivered thereto at all times by receiving a continuous flow of the material while invisibly discharging the material at the same rate at which it is received.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof. v 1 In the drawings, r v Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a deviceembodying the features of the instant invention; i Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view takensubstantially on theline 3-3 of Fig) 2;'

the device Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through the receiving unit taken substantially on the line 4'--4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view through the upper portion of the delivery unit taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 6 is a detail vertical sectional view, with parts broken; away, taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. l.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral I.I indicates a hollow casing forming a'base for the instant device whichis formed in any'desired manner fromsheet metal, or. any other suitable material." An elongated hollow housing I2 is. provided at the rear end of the casing II and upstanding therefrom, which (01. ith -126) is adapted to support an angularly disposed hollow casing or delivery unit I3 at its upper end. A receiving unit, indicated generally by refer ence numeral I4 is removably mounted, in'a manner to be later more fully described, onthe casing II directly below the forward or lower end of the delivery unit I3; I

Mounted upon the base member of the casing V II (Fig. 6) by means of a suitable bracket I5 is an electric motor I6 having a worm gear I! secured to the outer end of the shaft thereof. The worm I'l meshes with a geariIS which is mounted for rotation in any suitable manner upon one of a pair of horizontally disposed supporting brackets I9, which are secured to the rearwall of the casing II. The gear I8 comprises one of a train of driving gears which also includes a gear 2I rigidly secured to a shaft 22 journalled in a pair of bearing brackets 23 which are supported in any suitable manner by the brackets I9. Rigidly secured to the shaft 22 intermediate its end is a sprocket wheel 24 (shown in broken lines in Fig. 6) which is adapted to drive an endless chainf25 having a plurality of scoops or buckets 26 secured thereto in the usual manner.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 5, the chain 25'meshes with an upper sprocket wheel 21 similar to the sprocket 24 adjacent the upper end of the housing I2 which is secured to a shaft 28. The shaft 28 is journalled for rotation in a pair of suitable brackets 29 which are secured to the rear Wall of the housing I2 in any suitable manner. Disposed within the housing I2 is an open-ended hollow casing 3I which surrounds the major,

portion of the chain conveyer 25, 26 and'is secured-to the rear wall of the housing I2 by suitable brackets 32. It will thus be apparent that the motor- I6 will drive the chain conveyer 25,

train which includes the gears I8 and 2|, and the driving sprocket wheel 24. Y

The bottom wall 33 of the. hollow casing or delivery unit I3 is provided with a suitable aperture through whichthe upper end of the chain conveyor 25, 26 extends, as Well as the pair of auxiliary side walls extending from 26through the agency of the worm I1, the gear A0 7 34 to the front wall 36 of the delivery unit I3 and converging toward each other at their forward ends. A delivery spout in the form of a a short tube 31 is mounted in the front wall 36 of the unit |3 between the converging ends of the auxiliary walls 35.

relative to these members and extending vertically therethrough is a hollow tubular member 42 which is open at its lower end and closed at its upper end, and is provided adjacent its upper end with a plurality of circuinferentially spaced slots or apertures 43. The tube 42 is secured in any suitable manner to the hollow members 38, 39 and 4| to provide a unitary structure which is adapted to be removably positioned upon the upper surface of the hollow casing or base member The top wall of the casing H is provided with an aperture 44 through which the lower end of the tube 42 extends to properly position the receiving unit l4 under the spout 31 of the delivery unit l3. Within the bowl 4|, a substantially conical plate 45 is disposed which is secured in any suitable manner at its lower end to the tube 42 and contacts the inner surface of the bowl 4| at its upper edge portion. A circular plate 46 is positioned within the bowl 4| directly adjacent the upper end of the conical plate 45 with its circumferential edge terminating a short distance from the upper edge of the plate 45 and the inner surface of the bowl 4| to provide an annular recess 41 therebetween. A hollow spacing tube 48 is disposed between the upper end of the tube 42 and the plate 46 to properly position the latter, and the plate 46 is rigidly secured in..this position by means of a bolt 49 which extends downwardly through the plate 46 and the spacer tube 48 and is screwed into a suitable threaded aperture in the upper end of the tube 42.

When the receiving unit I4 is mounted upon the casing H with the tube 42 extending through the aperture 44 in the upper wall of the casing, the lower end of the tube 42 extends downwardly into the open upper end of a hollow receiving hopper which is best shown in Fig. 6. The hopper 5| is supported within the casing H by means of suitable brackets, or the like, 52. The lowerend of the hopper 5| is truncated and is closed by a suitable bottom plate 53 which slopes downwardly toward the lower end of the casing 3| surrounding the chain conveyer 25, 26. A hollow chute 54 is secured at its upper end to the lower end of the hopper 5|, and at its lower end the chute 54 extends into the lower end of the housing 3| to provide communication between the latter and the hopper 5 I, In this manner, any material deposited in the hopper 5| will be delivered by the chute 54 into the lower end of the casing 3| directly adjacent the buckets 26 of the conveyer as they move through the lowermost point of travel in a counter clockwise .direction, viewing Fig. 6. A lamp 55 is mounted a point adjacent the forward end of the aperture sent a commercial package identical to that in which the substance being, displayed is normally marketed. The substance with which the instant device is particularly adapted for use is granulated sugar. It is, of course, to be understood that the display device is equally well adapted for use with. any other suitable substance or material.

In the operation of the device, the chain conveyer 25, 26, driven by the motor I6, is adapted to pick up the. sugar or other granular material employed at the lower end of the housing 3| and carry the same upwardly to the delivery unit I3. Herethe buckets 26 dump the material on the bottom wall 33 of the casing l3 down which it flows to the delivery spout 31, being guided by the converging auxiliary side walls 35 to this point. From the spout 31, the sugar or other granular material flows in a continuous stream into the receiving unit I4 and is deposited upon the circular plate 46 disposed within the bowl 4|. After a sufficient quantity of the material has been deposited upon the plate 46 to build up a conical mound thereon, the excess material will flow through the annular aperture 41 onto the conical plate 45 and through the aperture 43 and tube 42 into the hopper 5|. From the hopper 5|, this excess material will. be delivered by the chute 54 into the lower end of the casing'3l to again be icked up by the conveyor 25, 26 and carried upwardly to the delivery unit l3. It will thus be seen that the construction of the receiving unit |4 results in a mound of the granular material being retained therein by the plate 46 at all times to give the appearance of the bowl 4| remaining full without overflowing, despite the continuous stream of material being delivered thereto. At the same time, the continuous stream of the granular material flowing from the delivery spout 31 makes it appear that the delivery unit |3 has an unlimited capacity, while at the same time it is evident that it has a limited and definite volume. Since the sugar or other granular material employed will pick up moisture from the air to reduce its free flowing qualities, the lamp 55 is provided for the purpose of maintaining the granular material in a dry condition. The rear wall of the elongated housing l2 may be made removable therefrom to facilitate the removal of the conveyer 25, 26 and the housing 3| surrounding the latter from the device for the purpose of cleaning or repair. Since the receiving unit |4 is loosely mounted upon the casing II, it will be apparent that this unit may also be readily removed for the purpose of cleaning or repairing the same. r a a It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understoodfrom the foregoing description, and. itv will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A display device, comprising a delivery unit in the form of a commercial package, a receiving unit including means mounted therein for retaining only a predetermined quantity of material delivered thereto by said delivery unit, and means for conveying the material delivered to said receiving unit in excess of said predeter- 'mined quantity from said receiving unit to said delivery unit.

2. A display device, comprising a hollow base member, a hollow casing extending upwardly therefrom, a delivery unit in the form of a commercial package mounted upon the upper end of said hollow casing, a receiving unit in the form of a bowl mounted upon said hollow base member and including means-mounted therein from said receiving unit back to said delivery unit.

3. A display device, comprising a hollow base member, a hollow casing extending upwardly therefrom, a delivery unit in the form of a commercial package mounted upon the upper end of said hollow casing, a receiving unit in the form of a bowl mounted upon said hollow base member and including means mounted therein for retaining a predetermined quantity of material delivered thereto by said delivery unit, a hopper mounted Within said hollow base member below said receiving unit to receive the material delivered to said receiving unit in excess ofsaid predetermined quantity, and means entirely enclosed by said base member, said hollow casing and said delivery unit for conveying such excess material from said hopper back to said delivery unit. 7

4. A display device, comprising a hollow base member, a hollow casing extending upwardly therefrom, a delivery unit in the form of a commercial package mounted upon the upper end of said hollow casing, a receiving unit in the form of a bowl mounted upon said hollow base member and including means mounted therein for retainbase member, and an endless conveyer enclosed entirely within said base member, said hollow casing and said delivery unit for conveying the excess material from said chute to said delivery unit.

5. A display device, comprising a hollow base member, a hollow casing extending upwardly therefrom, a delivery unit in the form of a commercial package mounted upon the upper end of said hollow casing, 'a receiving unit in the form of a bowl mounted upon said hollow base member and including means mounted therein for retaining a predetermined quantity of material delivered thereto by said delivery unit, a hopper mounted within said hollow base member below said receiving unit to receive the material delivered to said receiving unit in excess of said predetermined quantity, a chute connected at one end to the lower end of said hopper and open at the other end and extending angularly' therefrom to a point adjacent the bottom of said hollow base member, an endless conveyer enclosed entirely within said base member, said hollow casing and said delivery unit for conveying the excess material from said chute to said delivery unit, and means disposed adjacent said chute for drying the materiahpassing therethrough. V

6. In a. display device for providing a continuous stream of granular material flowing from a delivery unit, a receiving unit forreceiving such 7 tained by said second plate may flow onto said 4 conical plate and into said tubular member.

JOHN A. KERN. 

